Sentence is a group of words that makes sense on its own and conveys a complete idea. Sentences can be statements, questions, exclamations or commands. A sentence can be complex or simple. A sentence must contain a subject and a verb but can also include an object or complement – this is known as the predicate.

Almost every piece of writing you do that is longer than a single sentence should be broken up into paragraphs. This helps your reader see where the subdivisions of an essay begin and end, so they can follow the structure of your argument. It is important to keep your paragraphs coherent, which means they should all support and develop a single controlling idea expressed in a sentence called the topic sentence.

You can achieve coherence by being consistent in point of view, verb tense and number. Inconsistent use of these can make your text confusing for the reader. You can also improve coherence by using transition phrases (CAPITALIZED) between sentences and paragraphs to emphasize the connections you are making. In addition, you should be consistent in the way that you refer to key concepts and ideas throughout your text. Be careful, particularly when defining or describing something, to repeat key words or phrases. This consistency and repetition will help your reader understand your definition or description.